Friday, August 31, 2012

This is a busy time of year - so busy that you may not have a lot of time for scrapbooking (and I'm so sorry that I haven't had a lot of time for blogging!) So, the new Nancy O'Dell "Fast to Fabulous" album just might become our new best friend.

While CM is known for their super easy memory keeping solutions, the Fast to Fabulous concept takes the notion of fast scrapbooking to a whole new level. Because the album is PRE-LOADED with PRE-PRINTED PAGES, you can start adding your pictures right away. Add a few coordinating embellishments and slip on the page protectors and you've completed a 32 page album in about an hour!

I love the artwork in this album - the colors are bright and cheery and are suitable for so many themes and occasions. The kit includes 16 double sided pre-printed pages, a sheet of die-cuts, foam adhesive squares, a sheet of title stickers and an idea sheet to help you put it all together!

To give you even more options, CM designer Melissa Ullmann shows you how to create this album focusing on the Rich Relationships you have in your life - in just an hour! (Yes, it blows my mind every time I say it!) You can download a project sheet with Melissa's instructions, sample pages and even journaling prompts here.

All you'll need to complete this project is the new Nancy O'Dell JOY Fast to Fabulous album, adhesive and a journaling pen. At only $70.00 CAN the album is a great deal! Think about it - you'd typically spend $27.00 on a coverset, $29.00 for pages and protectors and anywhere from $20.00 and up for papers and embellishments to complete 30 pages in your album, plus you'd have to put it all together, so this concept will definitely save you time and money!

I hope that CM comes out with more albums like this - perhaps in different themes or designs. I can't wait for mine to arrive so I can get it done! In the meantime, your prompt this week is to check out and order the album set here, then sort your photos to get ready to pop them into the album when it arrives. Don't forget to download the project instruction sheet here.

Saturday, August 25, 2012

I love giving handmade cards along with presents to friends and family. But what about when the present IS a card? How do you make that a little more special? Gift cards can seem kind of impersonal, so I like to make a nice card to present it in - it makes it seem like much more of a present that way!

This week we found out that friends of ours that we have not seen for quite a while had a little baby boy back in June! How wonderful! Since we didn't know what they might need at this stage, we decided a gift card would be most appropriate so they could buy what they needed for baby Cole. I wanted to make a cute card to present it in and I also wanted it to fit in a regular invitation size envelope, which I always have on hand. So I did a little papercrafting math and came up with a method that is super easy and fast! And since I haven't done a tutorial in SO long, I thought I would make a quick one here for you. (Apologies in advance for the photos...I've worked on it for a while now, but Blogger seems to want to make all photos go into landscape orientation!)

1) Start with a sheet of 8.5 x 11 card stock for the card base. Make one cut at 5.5 inches so you have a piece measuring 5.5 x 11.

2) Turn the cardstock sideways and score it at 4.25 inches and 8.5 inches. It will look like this:

3) Fold the short end to the inside of the card. Round the corners of this short end if you like before you adhere. This will become the pocket for your gift card! Fold over the other end to make the front of the card.

4) Decorate the front of the card as you like for the occasion. I found a piece of striped paper from my stash that had baby blue and brown in it (my favorite combo for a little boy) along with some gold, so I used those colors for the baby elephant, which I cut at 2 inches from CM's Stork's Delivery Cartridge. I mounted the elephant with Foam Squares and added a little piece of ribbon to finish it off.

5) Stamp or write a sentiment on the inside flap and add the gift card to the pocket.

That' s it - a super easy gift card holder with only one cut a couple of folds and a little decoration! I can see making a few of these for Christmas and to have on hand for baby and birthday gifts!

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Guess what Purolator brought yesterday? My new computer! My wonderful hubby set it up for me when he got home last night and I now am good to go. I have to say that being without a computer was NOT fun, and I am so happy to be back online!

Today I'm sharing a masuline birthday card my son and I made last week. Grayson is seven and he has always enjoyed crafts. Since he was about three years old he would come to my craft table and ask to "scrapbook" - which was his way of asking to cut, paste and stamp! He still loves to make his own handmade cards for every occasion (that's my boy!). So when Daddy's birthday came around last week, of course he had to make a special card for him.

We cut a standard 4.25 x 11 card base from Cactus Cardstock, folded it and then layered a 4 x 5.25 piece of Cloud Cardstock and a piece of one of the Be Young papers cut to 3.75 x 5 on top. (Tip...when cutting with my kids, I line up the paper at the right marking on the paper cutter and hold it down tight while Grayson slides the blade carefully down to make the cut - such teamwork!)

Grayson stamped each of the images a few times on a piece of white card stock. The CM Stamper System is easy to use, especially for kids, and it's just as easy to change out the stamps and ink cartridges. Here's a quick video to give you an idea of just how easy it is...

After stamping the images, we punched them out with the Circle Maker punch then punched some larger background circles from leftover cardstock. The larger Dad stamp and it's background circle were cut out using the Circle Patterns from the Custom Cutting System (which I cut for safety's sake) and placed in between the other two stamps the other two stamps to form the sentiment on the front of the card.

Grayson wrote his own message inside and on the back, and gave it with pride to Daddy on his birthday. Don't you just love seeing your kids handwriting?! Here's the message inside the card...

and more writing on the back! (I had to remind him to sign his and Sam's names!)

Shane was thrilled and told Grayson it was the best card he ever received, beefing up Grayson's confidence and reinforcing his desire to hand-make cards for all occasions. I love crafting with my boy - it's such a great way to spend time together and it has lots of benefits!

Before the summer is over, have some fun crafting with your kids!

PS...there is a BIG End-of-Summer﻿ Sale going on at Creative Memories right now...up to 40% off on almost everything! You can shop until Monday August 27th on my website, but hurry as lots of the "While Supplies Last" items are selling out! Happy Shopping!

Sunday, August 19, 2012

Apologies for the lack of posts again this week - my new computer still has not arrived! Since hubby is off-roading today, I am using his to computer to at least get a creative prompt posted! Keep your fingers crossed that my computer comes soon!

This week's creative prompt is really about "tweaking" - but I like the title of "Block and Slide" better!

Most of us have a default scrapbook style or preference that we tend to fall back on, and sometimes we just need to tweak it - add or change a little something - to make our layouts more interesting. I speak from experience! This is what happened to me when I was working on some Easter layouts. After I had selected papers etc., I found myself arranging the photos in the same old way. I tend to be very linear in my scrapbooking, and rely on color blocking a lot with photos and patterned paper. This is what I initially started with...

(Sorry about the color...it seems blue-ish, but the background paper is actually white!)

Ok, but pretty same-old-same-old for me. Then I remembered a layout I had seen where the photos were tightly blocked and aligned with the edge of the 12 x 12 paper (cannot find or remember the source). I started rearranging my photos and papers and came up with this. The finished layout is still "me", but more visually pleasing to the eye and more interesting. Much better!

All materials Creative Memories:

Embossed Cardstock - Enchanted power palette

Patterned papers - Nancy O'Dell Love 12 x 12 Addition

Cactus Cardstock

Title cut with Cheerful Seasons Cricut Cartridge - Basic Shadow Font

I like how you can see more of the patterned paper and that there is more room at the side for embellishments and a title. FYI, the photos are one 4 x 6 and two 4 x 4's; the journaling spot is 4 x 2 and the background paper is 10 x 10. This layout was easy to put together and would make a great double page spread with another page mirroring it. So why not try this "block and slide" page plan on a layout - it's fast and easy...just the way I like to scrap!

Saturday, August 11, 2012

Sorry I've been absent this week...I've been dealing with a failing computer again! My IT hubby has babied my old laptop along now for 4 years, but it's finally time to get a new one. I am posting this on hubby's Mac, but since he uses it for work I don't have access to it most days. My new computer has been ordered and hopefully I'll be back to regular posting in a week or so!

Anyway...I wanted to share another layout completed on the road! Remember that I took a bunch of Page Kits with me on my vacation? I was able to get several layouts done in a small space when I had short little bursts of time...the kits are such a great tool for me! Here's one with photos from last summer at our favorite local amusement park (sorry it's so dark...no photo editing software to work with right now!)

When I was choosing kit supplies to work with these photos I wanted a bright, whimsical print.﻿ I came across these papers I purchased from CM when Grayson was about 2 or 3! That was when CM still had smaller size papers - they were about 11.25 x 12, instead of a true 12 x 12 size. But a 6 x 10 strip of my favorite plaid paper from the collection worked fine as a backdrop for the fun photos of the boys on rides at our local amusement park. The journal box with the little planes was so cute, and I still had a strip of cloud stickers in the kit that I cut apart and mounted with foam adhesive to finish off the layout. Some (very!) old letter stickers made for a simple, fast title and I then I journaled and drew some lines around the white elements with the same pen to help separate them from the background and give them a little definition. All in all I think this layout took about 12 minutes to complete!

I'll post some more layouts and try to catch up with some of the missing creative prompts as I have access to a computer, and once I get my own again, I'll be back on track sharing lots more artwork!

2) The CM Rewards Club is offering an incredible deal...sign up now for $39.00 and get $39.00 in credit to spend on CM products! That's like signing up for FREE! If you've been thinking about becoming a rewards club member, now is DEFINITELY the time to do so...if you are already a member, you'll extend your membership by one year (from your renewal date) AND add $39.00 in credit to your account. You can't beat this offer! See all the details and sign up here! But don't wait...this offer is only available until August 15th!

3) Don't forget if you are in the Calgary area, I'd love to have you join me at my Super Party Product Launch, this Wednesday August 15th at 7:30pm. RSVP and I will send you the address. Join me for some snacks and beverages, get your copy of the new catalogue and receive a free gift just for attending! See you then!

Sunday, August 05, 2012

It seems like Saturday was a busy day at the CM annual conference in Minneapolis...we certainly didn't get as much info at home as we were hoping for! But the conference has now finished and we are getting a few more photos posted on the facebook sites as consultants have time to share them!

Make a Wish DREAM Collection

Make a Wish is an amazing charity that fundraises in order to grant wishes to sick children. Creative Memories is a proud contributor to MAW and each year a new collection is created with part of the proceeds of that collection going directly to the charity. This year's collection "Dream" is so cute and fun, and incorporates the Balloon image that is the symbol for MAW! I love the colors...they will be great for so many occasions.

The variety of products in the collection is great too - there is a Coverset, Specialty Papers and Layered Stickers, a PicFolio Album and Photo Accents, a Simply Said Book AND a punch! Have a look at this video to get a glimpse of the whole line and the kids who we can help through the Make a Wish charity:

Rewards Club
Here's a product I missed sharing on Saturday...the "Color My World Stack Pack" will be the new Rewards Club offering in September! This exclusive product can only be purchased by Rewards Club Members! (If you don't know about the Creative Memories Rewards Club...go here to find out and sign up!)

Cricut, Holiday and Croptoberfest Products!

I don't have any photo of the following products as they won't be officially launched until the November/December Mini-Catalogue, but several consultants took photos and have posted them. Head on over to consultant Lisa Brown-Graham's blog to see photos of these items!

Holiday Frames and Tags Cricut Cartridge!

Be Merry Christmas Collection!

Nordic Christmas Collection!

Holiday Coversets!

Twinkle Border Cartridge!

Chalking Ink!

Consultants who were not at Showcase get to order tomorrow, so hopefully I'll be able to see and learn about some more new products then! I'll have lots of the new products at my Super Party on Wednesday August 15th at my home in Calgary! If you are in the area, please RSVP and I'll send you the address and info! Hope you can make it to see all the new goodies!

Saturday, August 04, 2012

Even for the most die-hard scrapbooker, sometimes the creative juices just aren't flowing and you need a little inspiration to get you going, right? I love sharing inspiration with you, so I want to share a video I came across via the Scrapbook and Cards Today website.

If you don't know this publication, check it out. It's a professionally edited magazine, published four times a year and you can view it FREE online! There are lots of great ideas, and the benefit to it being an online publication is that there are lots of added features. Case in point, the "Create Today" series of videos showing you step-by-step how to put together layouts and/or cards. As I watched a few of them, I fell in love with the layout (based on a Becky Fleck Pagemap) and materials in this one hosted by Lynn Ghahary:

I really liked the weathered wood papers she was using, and I was reminded of some of the papers in CM's Rugged Power Palette. I knew I had a few photos of my hubby that I wanted to make a personality layout with, and I thought it would be a great combination. So, I scraplifted it - that is, I not only used the sketch from the video, but copied the feel of Lynn's final layout. Here's my take on her fabulous layout:

So your creative prompt for this week is to spend a little time watching some of the videos on the SBCT You Tube Channel (or whatever inspirational source you want - like a magazine etc.) and see if you fall in love with a project enough to scraplift it!

Friday, August 03, 2012

This is the third post today on new CM products from the annual conference! Make sure you scroll down to see them all!

One category of products we all look forward to seeing every summer is the new Holiday products!

Fall is my favorite time of year and I love Halloween, so I can't wait to see CM's new Limited Edition Halloween Collection (which I think is called Hocus Pocus)!

I love the look of it - a bit vintage, but still graphic and cute. A 6 x 6 stack pack of double sided papers and die cuts will be available and it looks like the collection is loaded with great features such as these dimensional layered stickers!

And if you look closely at the first photo, you'll see TWO NEW BORDER MAKER CARTRIDGES! I think they are called Rustic Fence and Pumpkin Chain - can't wait to add those to my collection!

Although CM hasn't spilled the beans on the entire Christmas line yet, I heard there are some new Christmas themed border maker cartridges, and there was a sneak-peek photo of the new Christmas Countdown Project!

It sounds like Projects like these will be packaged and sold together, making it super easy to complete at a party, crop or on your own!

The new Fall/Winter 2012 Catalogue is a little different as well. Previously we had a full line catalogue and a party catalogue. Now they will be combined, making it easy to have everything in one place, and making parties fun and more inviting for your guests! I can't wait to see the new hostess specials for the fall...book your fall party now so you can take advantage of them before everyone else!

This is my second post today on new products from the CM conference. Be sure to scroll down to read the first update too!

I love the Nancy O'Dell products CM has introduced over the past couple of years. In fact, I love Nancy! Despite being a Hollywood celebrity, her approach to memory-keeping is so down to earth and fits so well with the Creative Memories vision. She knows first hand that photos and stories are so important as her mother created over 50 albums to capture the moments of her and her sister growing up!

Because Nancy's first CM collection - the Hummingbird Collection - was being discontinued, we figured there would be a new collection coming soon. The new JOY collection is fabulous and doesn't disappoint!

First up, the new "JOY Fast to Fabulous Album" that allows you to create an album faster than ever before. With pre-printed pages loaded into pre-assembled albums, it picks up where Quick Albums left off, making it even easier to go from a stack of photos to a gorgeous album in as little as half an hour. Nancy’s classy, colorful artwork makes this an amazing choice for a whole range of different album projects.

There is also a "You Bring Me Joy" Simply Said Book. It's such a quick and simple way to share some photos and sentiments with someone you love. As inexpensive gifts go, this new You Bring Me Joy book could be a true tear-jerker in under an hour!

Nancy's Hummingbird Tote is being discontinued, but never fear, a new Nancy bag is here! Hardworking and stylish, this versatile new bag has a gorgeous pewter finish on the outside and a distinctive, fresh pattern on the fabric inside. Big enough to fit an album, it’s wonderful as a tote for your scrapbooking project. But I think this is going to be my new fall handbag of choice - it's gorgeous!

A wonderful addition to our display/home decor line is the new Espresso Magnetic Display. Nancy’s a big advocate of displaying photos (especially of the kids) to emphasize and validate the people who matter in your life. This gorgeous new display is an excellent new option!

I really enjoyed Nancy's two previous books - "Full of Love" and "Secret Ingredients" - so I am excited to read her latest book - "Here's to Fabulous You"! Inspired by Nancy’s own monthly get-togethers with good friends, this handy little book will become the convenient collecting place for all the important tips, ideas, thoughts and inspirations in your life. Your relationships, your aspirations, your wellness, your home...this one book can help you make them all a little more fabulous. I can't wait to get my hands on it!

I can't wait to see these gorgeous products in person! If you are in the Calgary area, make sure you mark the evening of Wednesday August 15th on your calendar so you can stop by my Fall Product Launch and see them for yourself as well! Stay tuned for more updates later today!

Although I am not attending the Creative Memories annual conference in Minneapolis right now, I am so happy that CM is sharing all their new products and programs with those of us at home! I'll be doing a bunch of posts on what's new with CM along with my regular posts over the next few days. Can't wait to see it all in person!

The first product I want to share is the updated version of our incredible photo organizing and editing tool - Memory Manager! We are moving from 3.0 to 4.0 and it looks amazing! I have been using Memory Manager since it's inception and have 10+ years of digital photos on it - that's over 13,500 photos! I have been so satisfied with what it can do, but I am absolutely thrilled at the new features! Have look at this video to see for yourself:

I particularly love the new facial recognition feature, the easy sharing feature and the one-touch enhancement feature. It will be so easy to make your photos look the best they can and then organize and share them! This is just another way Creative Memories is staying true to it's vision of preserving and sharing the important photos and stories of our lives.

Think about it for a second - where are YOUR photos right now? Do you worry about losing some of them on your computer? Is it easy to find the photos you are looking for to complete a memory-keeping project or page? Perhaps now is the time to get them organized!

Memory Manager 4.0 will be available to order on my website as of September 1, 2012, but those of you who are able to come to my Fall Product Launch on August 15th will be able to order your products that night! You'll be able to get your hands on all the new products 2 weeks before everyone else! Hope you can make it!

Watch for news about some great seasonal and Nancy O'Dell products later today!

PS...I'm not sure of pricing yet, but when it does come available you'll be able to purchase a downloadable upgrade (if you already own Memory Manager3.0), or purchase the entire new Memory Manager 4.0 on disk or by download.

Thursday, August 02, 2012

I've been checking out some sketch and card challenge blogs lately...nothing gets my mojo going like a good challenge! I have added some of the challenge sites that I like in my sidebar and I'll definitely be sharing some of challenge layouts and cards in future posts.

While I had the Enchanted Power Palette out, I made a couple more quick cards. There's no stamping or coloring on these ones - I just used the gorgeous Papers, cute Phrase Stickers, textured Paper Flowers and self-adhesive Epoxy Stickers (gems). The cards came together so fast and easy, and it's always great to add a few more friendship themed cards to my stash.

Wednesday, August 01, 2012

We are back from vacation...we had such a great time, but it's always nice to be home! I've finished unpacking and started in on the mountains of laundry, but since I now have a few moments to photograph some layouts, I thought I would start sharing some of the ones I created from the Page Kits I brought with me on vacation.

Since I chose the photos, paper, potential embellishments and sketch and packaged it all up prior to going on vacation, I was able to put this layout together in about 10 or 15 minutes! I brought 8 page kits with me on holidays and I managed to complete 6 of them in my downtime - not bad! It feels great to have a few extra layouts done and I'll be sharing more of those with you over the next few days.

In the meantime, I'll be watching for details from the Creative Memories annual conference which gets underway in Minneapolis tomorrow! I'll be sure to share any details that I am privy to, but you might also want to tune in to Creative Memories Home Office facebook page, Twitter and Pinterest accounts as they may be posting sneak peeks of new products. Can't wait to see and share all the new CM loveliness!

About Me

Hi! I'm a wife and mom of two busy boys. I'm am art teacher by day and a crafty homebody by night. I love being at home or at our little cabin in the woods, organizing, crafting, cooking or baking and trying to make the crazy job of being a mom a little more creative and fun. Join me for my adventures in family life!